Coronavirus: UK's Boris Johnson issues stay-at-home order

AFP

The UK has announced the decision to ban people from leaving their homes, in a bid to tackle the spread of coronavirus.

Making the announcement, Prime Minister Boris Johnson clarified that exemptions will be made for work, exercise, food and medical care.

Shops selling non-essential goods will be closed, and so will libraries, playgrounds and places of worship.

Public gatherings of more than two people will be prohibited.

"If you don't follow the rules, the police will have the power to enforce them, including through fines and dispersing gatherings," Johnson said.

So far, the country has recorded 335 deaths and more than 6,600 positive cases.

More from International

  • Powerful winter storm shuts schools, disrupts travel across US Northeast

    Children across parts of the US Northeast will stay home on Monday as a powerful winter storm forced school closures and pushed offices and transit systems onto emergency schedules, with officials across the region warning of dangerous travel conditions.

  • Mexican military kills cartel boss 'El Mencho' in US-backed raid

    One of Mexico's most notorious drug lords, Nemesio Oseguera, or "El Mencho", has been killed in a military raid on Sunday, sparking widespread retaliatory violence.

  • Afghanistan says Pakistan strikes kill and injure dozens

    Pakistan said it launched strikes on targets in Afghanistan after blaming recent suicide bombings, including assaults during the holy month of Ramadan, on fighters it said were operating from its neighbour's territory.

  • Police officer killed, dozens injured in bomb explosions in Ukraine's Lviv

    One police officer was killed and 24 other people were injured after several explosive devices detonated at midnight in Lviv in western Ukraine, the National Police said on Sunday.

  • Trump pivots to new 15% global tariff after Supreme Court setback

    President Donald Trump said on Saturday he will raise a temporary tariff from 10 per cent to 15 per cent on US imports from all countries, the maximum level allowed under the law, after the US Supreme Court struck down his previous tariff programme. The move came less than 24 hours after Trump announced a 10% across-the-board tariff on Friday after the court's decision. The ruling found the president had exceeded his authority when he imposed an array of higher rates under an economic emergency law. The new levies are grounded in a separate but untested law, known as Section 122, that al